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Lot Essay
Professor Theodore Reff has confirmed the authenticity of this drawing, which he dates circa 1890-1895.
Degas's subject of the coiffure was a theme he explored and returned to repeatedly over several decades. The theme of a young woman combing her hair or having it brushed by a maid, inspired Degas to produce some of his finest oils, drawings and pastels in the final phase of his career.
Richard Kendall explains, "Degas's first images of hairdressing, such as Beach Scene (coll. London, The National Gallery), were set in the open air and in transparently innocent surroundings. His second suite, executed as monotypes in the late 1870's brazenly tackled the opposite set of conventions, showing prostitutes surrounded by all the accoutrements of the brothel as they allow attendants to prepare their toilette or brush their hair in front of a client" (Kendall, Degas, Beyond Impressionism, The National Gallery, London, exh. cat., 1996, p. 219). Kendall indicates that by the mid-1880's Degas abandoned the above surroundings and turned to indoor settings, ill-defined spaces and the absence of accompanying narrative. In a manner characteristic of his late drawing style, in the present work Degas accentuates the strong line of the back and arms with vertical hatching strokes, highlighted with the same repeated strokes in blue pastel. The hatching technique Degas utilized to define the body and show the strain in the upper back and arms of the model, in the act of combing her hair contrasts the sinuous lines of the hair being combed. Another stark contrast to the solid presence of the sitter is the vacuous and unidentified space in which she is placed. This work demonstrates the artist's extraordinary ability to find visual and psychological drama in the most commonplace activities of everyday life.
Degas's subject of the coiffure was a theme he explored and returned to repeatedly over several decades. The theme of a young woman combing her hair or having it brushed by a maid, inspired Degas to produce some of his finest oils, drawings and pastels in the final phase of his career.
Richard Kendall explains, "Degas's first images of hairdressing, such as Beach Scene (coll. London, The National Gallery), were set in the open air and in transparently innocent surroundings. His second suite, executed as monotypes in the late 1870's brazenly tackled the opposite set of conventions, showing prostitutes surrounded by all the accoutrements of the brothel as they allow attendants to prepare their toilette or brush their hair in front of a client" (Kendall, Degas, Beyond Impressionism, The National Gallery, London, exh. cat., 1996, p. 219). Kendall indicates that by the mid-1880's Degas abandoned the above surroundings and turned to indoor settings, ill-defined spaces and the absence of accompanying narrative. In a manner characteristic of his late drawing style, in the present work Degas accentuates the strong line of the back and arms with vertical hatching strokes, highlighted with the same repeated strokes in blue pastel. The hatching technique Degas utilized to define the body and show the strain in the upper back and arms of the model, in the act of combing her hair contrasts the sinuous lines of the hair being combed. Another stark contrast to the solid presence of the sitter is the vacuous and unidentified space in which she is placed. This work demonstrates the artist's extraordinary ability to find visual and psychological drama in the most commonplace activities of everyday life.